The Special Envoy of the U.S. Department of State for Monitoring and Combating Anti-Semitism, Gregg Rickman, expressed his concern over "the increasing Iranization" in Latin America.
"Our concern is that this notion is expanding in Latin America. I am concerned with the Jewish community in Venezuela, which is intimidated and scared. I am also worried about the local government closing the doors on them and about the fact that their Hebraica club was raided twice", the US official told Argentina’s Jewish News Agency (AJN).
Moreover, Rickman condemned the remarks made by Venezuelan Ambassador to Moscow, Alexis Rafael Navarro Rojas, who had said that "in the coup attempt against the Venezuelan government the Venezuelan Jews were in the streets acting as snipers, working for the Mossad (the Israeli Intelligence Service)."
Regarding the progress made in the investigation of the 1994 AMIA bombing in Buenos Aires, where 85 people were killed, Rickman urged the Argentine government to continue with the probe.
However, the American official said he was "happy" with the efforts made by the administration of Argentine President Cristina Kirchner to solve the case.
The U.S. Special Envoy met on Thursday morning with representatives of AMIA and DAIA (Delegation of Argentine-Israeli Associations) to express the U.S. "commitment" to solve any anti-Semitic attack.
At the meeting, they also analyzed the different means to fight racism, xenophobia and discrimination.
Rickman arrived in Buenos Aires, after visiting Venezuela, and he is scheduled to visit Uruguay before finishing his tour throughout Latin America.
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